Thursday, August 18, 2011

A blog on publication day.

Today sees the official publication of TO DEFY A KING in paperback. Previously published in hardcover and also available on Kindle and audio it is now to be had in glorious paberback. The cover has been revamped from the hardcover to make it brighter and give it more standout appeal on the supermarket and chain store bookshelf. It has also been stickered as the very proud winner of the RNA award for historical fiction 2011. I'm having a small celebratory prize draw. See the foot of the blog for details.

So what exactly is the RNA award?

The RNA is the UK's Romantic Novelists Association. http://www.rna-uk.org/ It's a broad church open to published authors across the wide spectrum of romantic fiction genres. It embraces mainstream fiction, literary fiction, historical fiction, romantic comedy, contemporary and historical sagas, and even some crime fiction. It also champions category romance including the rich and varied seam belonging to Mills & Boon. The RNA also has an associate membership for industry professionals such as authors, editors and agents. The association has an annual scheme to assist new writers coming through - the New Writers Scheme. This is immensely popular and always over-subscribed. It is responsible for the discovery of new talent, brings new blood regularly into the RNA and has kick started many a stellar career. As well as conferences, famed London parties and seminars, the RNA also has an award for the best romantic novel of the year with sub categories for the best historical novel, the best romantic comedy and the best love story, the latter geared towards category romances where the romance is fully up front. Although the award rulings are subject to change, the above is the gist.
What is terrific about these awards is that the longlist is chosen by ordinary readers. The publishers enter the books for the award (usually several hundred contenders) and they are parcelled up and sent out to volunteers who are not members of the RNA but who are passionate about reading. They score the books according to various criteria based on plot, characterisation, content etc. Each book receives 2 reads and the scores are added up. Top scores go onto the longlist which is then read by RNA members not connected with the award and without novels of their own involved. The books are whittled down to a shortlist of 6 and these are then judged by a panel of industry professionals and a winner announced. Previous judges have included Tim Waterstone, Jenny Murray, Richard Lee, founder of the Historical Novel Society, Janine Cook, head buyer for Waterstones, and novelist Amanda Craig. Previous winners include Rosamund Pilcher, Philippa Gregory, Susan Kay, Freya North, Cathy Kelly and JoJo Moyes. Shortlistees have included Dorothy Dunnett, Joanne Harris and Nicholas Sparks.

This year's awards were announced at champagne reception and canapes event at Number One Whitehall, London - and a brilliant day out it was too. TO DEFY A KING was on two shortlists, and although it didn't win the all categories, was named the winner of the Historical Novel prize - see the sidebar of the blog.

I credit the RNA with keeping me in a job earlier in my career during some very difficult times. Historical fiction was in the doldrums and I was one of the endangered midlist authors. I saw many of my historical novelist colleagues lose their place in publishing. However, the readers kept putting my books through to the shortlist of the RNA awards and this showed my publisher that there was an appetite out there for what I was producing and also, through publicity, it raised reader awareness that bit higher and helped build my platform. TO DEFY A KING is my fifth shortlisting. Since it's out today, I'd like to raise a toast to my publishers, to the novel, to the readers, and to the RNA. Salute!

These are my other, reader-chosen shortlisted novels from previous years.

To celebrate today's publication, I am offering a giveaway of a copy of To Defy a King plus a novel of your choice to one UK reader and one overseas reader. Just drop an e-mail to elizabethchadwick@live.co.uk, stating clearly whether you are a UK or overseas entry.

NB. If you've tried and it hasn't worked, I'm sorry. I wrote my address wrong the first time - I put a dot in where there wasn't one (sigh). Anyway, it's fixed now. However, Live can be sensitive, so if you can't get through, leave a message on the blog, or contact me through Twitter or Facebook.

Thank you for telling me Yvette and Catherine. I will add your names to the list and I'll put a note at the bottom of the blog with an alternative way of contacting me. I've had quite a few entries that have got through. I think it's that Live mail is being too sensitive and bouncing some of you.

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THE WINTER CROWN

WHAT READERS ARE SAYING

" Wow! I feel like someone used to watching movies in black and white but has just seen the first one in technicolor! " A personal letter from a reader.

"The Winter Crown ...will, I have no doubt, become the definitive fictional account of this remarkable woman.' ..." I’ve read a fair few fictional depictions of Henry II over the years and I must say that his portrait in The Winter Crown has the most authentic feel of them all."Kate Atherton, author of For Winters Night blog.

"Eeanor’s life story has been told many times over in historical novels but rarely with such insight, emotional intensity and page-turning readability." Pam Norfolk, Lancashire Evening Post.

"In the world of the arts, the Black Legend and the Golden Myth still hold sway, as seen in novels, such as Alison Weir's, which seek to portray both the scandalous, adulterous queen of legend and the powerful female ruler. Historians may shake their heads at the perpetuation of such myths, but many historical novelists such as Sharon Kay Penman and Elizabeth Chadwick are seeking to apply modern scholarship to their fiction, and consequently avoid the most egregious of the legends that surround Eleanor."

THE SUMMER QUEEN UK cover

US paperback cover. UK hardback

WHAT READERS ARE SAYING ABOUT THE SUMMER QUEEN

"What I loved about this novel, and I have felt this way about all of Elizabeth’s novels that I have read, is that she does not pander to stereotypes or write scandal for the sake of it. The historical Eleanor is defamed beyond belief- a whore chasing anything in trousers, a woman who committed incest with her uncle, a woman who was ‘ahead of her time’, and so on. Elizabeth’s Alienor is none of these things. She is treated fairly, as a woman of her own time, written in a believable way. Elizabeth does not go for scandal because she does not need to- the writing in this novel makes that very clear. Her scene setting is lovely, her character development top notch, and the book is a compulsive page turner. I couldn’t put it down." Sarah Bell

."The Summer Queen is a fabulous novel based on the most up-to-date and meticulous research. This is historical fiction at its best and I loved every page of it." Kate Atherton, blogger.

"I have read just about everything I can about Eleanor and enjoyed both biographical and fictional accounts of her life but I must say that your creation of Eleanor is the most compelling." Reader from Australia

"I loved the story; I loved the way the author wrote Alienor as a woman of her times instead of a thoroughly modern independent woman, or a slut in chase of anything in pants. As with all Chadwick novels, there's also the added plus of being sucked into another century with the sights, smells and sounds that wrap up a darn-near perfect reading experience. I couldn't put it down, and very sorry I'm going to have to wait for the next installment. Reader from the USA"

I often see the expressions, `fleshing out the history' and `making it real', and they more than apply here...the main aspect that made me keep turning the pages and burning the midnight oil? The things that I didn't know about Alienor.." Reader from Australia

"Chadwick has succeeded where many other novelists have failed by giving us not just the legend but the very human young woman – intelligent, determined, witty and sexy." Pam Norfolk. Lancashire Evening Post.